Phantom Power, Super Furry Animals, LP

Super Furry Animals were one of the first post-alternative bands, fusing together a number of disparate musical genres - including power pop, punk rock, techno, and progressive rock - creating a shimmering, melodic, irreverent, and wilfully artsy rock & roll. Produced by the band, Phantom Power keeps a much lower profile than the bands previous work. The album for the most part, is awash with pedal steel, acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies. But if you think the creative juices have ceased, you could barely be more wrong. Gruff Rhys' songwriting moves a step forward on Phantom Power, with playful story-based lyrics about turtles, mingers, ninjas and cabbages contrasting with lines about death, radiation and war. This 2LP Heavyweight Deluxe Reissue has been beautifully remastered from the mixdown tapes and includes linernotes from the album executive producer Kurt Stern. If you need more Super Furries, the remastered album is also available as a 3CD format, with two extra CDs packed full of bonus material, including out-takes, demos, and live version.